Breaking Bad

By Jodi Redford

No super deed goes unpunished...

It’s been twenty-five years since the last Light Guardian was wiped out. Or so it’s believed. Ruby Winston is about to blow the lid off that theory, even though it’ll bring every Shadow Czar minion down on her ass.

She’s always known she was different from the rest of the evil-dictators-in-training Winstons. Uncovering the secret half of her gene pool proves it. Now she’s out to bring down her late father’s mind-control soda empire—and break the Shadow Czars’ hold on Earth.

Problem is, becoming a superhero overnight isn’t as easy as it looks.

Teague Younger has his own secrets to keep: his heritage, and his fierce determination to exact revenge on his friend and mentor’s murderer. So far he’s kept his cover—until he’s forced to use his Light Guardian powers to save Ruby from a sticky situation.

Thrust together and on the run, Teague and Ruby form a wary alliance as they desperately fight their circuit-blowing attraction. With an army of Shadow Queen minions hot on their tails, they might have a hard time surviving the night, much less ignoring their hearts.

Warning: This book contains mind-controlling beverages, evil dictators and minions, excessive use of spandex, and enough electrifying sex to melt an ice train.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jodi Redford
• Release date: Jun 15, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370035014

Jodi Redford

At the ripe age of seven, Jodi Redford penned her first epic, complete with stick figure illustrations. Sadly, her drawing skills haven’t improved much, but her love of fantasy worlds never went away. These days she writes about fairies, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures, only with considerably more heat. She has won numerous awards, including The Golden Pen and Launching a Star. When not writing or working the day job, she enjoys gardening and way too many reality television shows.  

Book preview

Breaking Bad

Jodi Redford

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wonderful editor, Sasha, who is a superhero in her own right. I can never thank you enough for your unwavering support and dedication to making each and every book I write the best it can be.

Also to my Zombie Smuthound posse. Kyla, Kelly, Bea, Kendra, Lou. You are true friends who never fail to make me laugh, and cheer me up exactly when I need it most. Love you all.

Breaking Bad

Copyright © 2012,2017 Jodi Redford

Edited by Sasha Knight

Cover by Kanaxa

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system-except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine, newspaper, or on the web-without permission in writing from the author.

No super deed goes unpunished…

It’s been twenty-five years since the last Light Guardian was wiped out. Or so it’s believed. Ruby Winston is about to blow the lid off that theory, even though it’ll bring every Shadow Czar minion down on her ass.

She’s always known she was different from the rest of the evil-dictators-in-training Winstons. Uncovering the secret half of her gene pool proves it. Now she’s out to bring down her late father’s mind-control soda empire—and break the Shadow Czars’ hold on Earth.

Problem is, becoming a superhero overnight isn’t as easy as it looks.

Teague Younger has his own secrets to keep: his heritage, and his fierce determination to exact revenge on his friend and mentor’s murderer. So far he’s kept his cover—until he’s forced to use his Light Guardian powers to save Ruby from a sticky situation.

Thrust together and on the run, Teague and Ruby form a wary alliance as they desperately fight their circuit-blowing attraction. With an army of Shadow Queen minions hot on their tails, they might have a hard time surviving the night, much less ignoring their hearts.

Warning: This book contains mind-controlling beverages, evil dictators and minions, excessive use of spandex, and enough electrifying sex to melt an ice train.

Chapter One

Neon City, Earth

2039

Teague Younger’s hard-won patience was about to pay off. Big time.

He shrugged from his leather jacket and tossed it over the back of his office chair before settling in the seat and powering on his computer. Usually the delicate nature of vengeance would have been best played out in the comfort and security of his penthouse at the Neon Palace—or better yet, his safe house tucked deep in the underbelly of Tenement Row. But he couldn’t afford raising his quarry’s suspicion. If there was one thing you could count on, it was a supervillain’s innate distrust and overall skeeviness. Fortunately for Teague, both qualities would lure Hugo Winston exactly where Teague wanted him—into the trap that’d seal Hugo’s fate and end Teague’s eighteen-year quest for revenge.

He opened the inbox attached to his Winston Enterprises account and typed a brief draft. Rival Shadow Czars planning hostile takeover of Shadow Soda. Sweet and to the point. Hugo would be jumping on his private jet within seconds of receiving the communication.

Then his ass is mine. Grim satisfaction firming his jaw, Teague shot off the email and closed his inbox. When Reginald Winston—Hugo’s brother and the CEO of Shadow Soda—unexpectedly kicked the bucket three weeks ago, Teague figured his best and likely only chance at getting to Hugo had been buried in the ground along with Reginald. Considering how Hugo wasn’t one to get his hands dirty with the day-to-day running of Shadow Soda, the man had assigned the administrative and grunt work to Teague and the other managers while Hugo reaped the profits from the cushy comfort of his heavily guarded suite in Shadow Vail. A few sleepless nights had snapped Teague out of his frustrated funk and given him enough time to devise plan B. The threat of a takeover had been a brilliant improvisation, and entirely plausible. Every son-of-a-bitch Shadow Czar on this godforsaken planet was salivating in lusty glee at the prospect of seizing Shadow Soda and its multimillion-dollar income stream.

Even more enticing than the money was the power that came with this particular prize. Shadow Soda was the prime source behind the Shadow Network’s mind-controlling empire. Anyone lucky enough to hold the reins received highest favor with the queen. There was no way in hell Hugo would allow that honor to fall in the hands of anyone but himself. That right there guaranteed the son of a bitch leaving the security of his suite. Teague wasn’t worried about the handful of guards Hugo might bring along. If he had to take them out too, he would.

Teague started to rise from his chair just as a flicker of motion buzzed across the imbedded security screen at the top of his monitor. There were nine minions on patrol tonight. It would have been perfectly logical to assume what he’d seen had been one of those ugly-assed creatures. He might even have believed his own assumptions, if not for the brilliant gleam of red he swore he’d spied. He’d suffered far too many erotic fantasies revolving around that particular shade of crimson not to instantly recognize it.

His body stiffening in more ways than one, he inched closer to the monitor, his gaze glued to the screen. The image on his computer remained motionless. Whatever the security camera had captured was now gone. Punching the key that switched cameras, he panned through the next several views. The slowest five seconds of his life ticked by before the red flash reappeared, this time a good thirty or so yards from where he’d first glimpsed it.

Ruby. She ducked farther into the shadows before he got a better look at her face. Didn’t matter. He’d seen enough to know it was her. Hell, he could be blindfolded and his body would still be able to pick her out of a lineup. Just follow the pointing of his damn cock. Grimacing, he rearranged his fly.

What was she doing? Anyone skulking around the way she was must be up to no good. Then again, she was Reginald’s daughter. Good wasn’t exactly in a supervillain’s vocabulary. Sure, he’d heard the rumors about her foiled attempts at sabotaging the plant. He’d always assumed they were lies her cousins hatched in hopes of getting Ruby kicked out of the family biz. After all, supervillains were nasty fucks, regardless if they were related to you or not.

Uneasiness festered in his gut as he stared at the darkened corner where he’d last spotted Ruby. What if the rumors were real? She was definitely up to something. Didn’t take much to deduce whatever it was would likely not end well.

This isn’t your problem, damn it. He had more pressing concerns than Ruby Winston. Whatever the fuck she was up to—

Shit. Growling at his stupidity, he disabled the overhead cameras and shoved from his seat. Scrubbing a palm along the back of his neck, he stalked from his office. Something tells me I’m going to regret this.

He checked the numbers painted in glossy black over each hallway entrance leading to different sections of the bottling plant. The last area he’d seen Ruby had been sector ten. He strode in that direction. Usually he tried to keep a firm distance from Ruby. In the three short months he’d been working as her father’s right-hand man, he’d perfected the art of resisting his overpowering magnetic attraction to her. It should have been a lot easier, considering her family tree. With anyone else, he would have gotten her between the sheets and exorcized every last one of his sexual fantasies from his system before walking away. Ruby’s connection to Hugo made that impossible. Plus he had a sinking feeling that one night would never cure him of his fascination with her.

It was that damn obsession that was currently fucking up his plans. He should be concentrating on the trap he’d laid for Hugo and the immense pleasure of ending the man’s life. Not following Ruby in hope of uncovering what the hell she was up to.

No matter how many times Teague reminded himself of that, his feet continued edging him down the corridor. A rustling noise sounded ahead. Slowing his steps, he inched closer to the concealing shadows ringing the perimeter of the tunnel-like hallway before proceeding forward with deliberate stealth. If that was Ruby up there, he didn’t want to give her a heads-up to his approach.

He reached the entrance to sector eleven. Hugging close to the wall outside the entry, he scanned the cavernous room for any sign of Ruby. Other than the motorized whir of the conveyor belts in the distance, no